Tag: Grocery Shopping

Menu
Planning

Now you now know how to eat healthy, what to eat, and what to avoid… And hopefully you have gone shopping, and have rotated all the foods in your fridges and cupboards… you are all ready for a fresh clean start!  What types of foods can you create with all this in mind? This week we’re giving you the 411 on menu planning:

Menu planning can be tricky, particularly now that meals are not always composed of a meat, a starch, and a vegetable. If you are entertaining, then you want the meal to flow, present well, and be satisfying for your guests. Here’s a checklist to help you:

  • Check with your guests to see if they have any special dietary requirements.
  • How much time do you have?
  • Ask yourself what is in season and what the weather is like. Have your guests been active (for example, skiing all day)? Is it the middle of summer? Perhaps everyone will  want  to be sitting outside on your dec Do you want a culinary theme (Asian-inspired or Italian- inspired, for example)?
  • From a health perspective, two thirds of your menu should be composed of low-starch vegetables and leafy greens, and the remaining third should be a protein dish. You can incorporate one dish that is a starchy vegetable, a legume, or a gluten-free grain like quinoa or lentils.  Add a healthy dose of fat to help your body absorb all those wonderful vegetables!
  • Now choose your main dish.
  • If you have chosen a meat dish, pair it with two or three lighter vegetable dishes or salads. If the meal is dark in color with richer flavors, like a vegetable curry or a chicken stew, pair it with a green salad and an acidic dressing.
  • Now, think balance in textures and colours: don’t start with a soup and serve a stew as your main course. Don’t serve a quiche as your main course and serve pie for dessert! Pick different colors and textures of dishes to compliment and balance your main dish.
  • Don’t use the same cooking method for all of your courses, or you will over-commit oven or stovetop space.
  • Make sure one or two of your dishes can be made ahead.
  • It’s probably not a good idea to experiment with a new recipe when you are hosting guests.
  • Serve the meal family-style if kids are involved, so they can pick and choose what they would like to eat.  Reward them for trying new foods.
  • When in doubt, pair your main dish with a simple green salad.

For more detailed information on Menu Planning, pick up your copy of the Recipes for Life Boxed Set here.

Access your complementary recipe here.

 

Health Coach Rita Thomas and Chef Erin Holm hope to inspire families, friends and communities to live happier, healthier and more delicious lives. Sign up for their weekly health and recipe blog to start your journey to good health.

Sample
Menus

Hello!   Here is a sneak peak at the type of Menus you will be able to create using our Recipes:

 

New Year’s Eve Dinner

  • Winter Salad with Pomegranate and Fennel
  • Seafood Chowder
  • Mocha Pudding Cake

Vegan Supper

  • Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
  • Asian Beet and Avocado Salad
  • Zucchini Spaghetti “Zoodles”
  • Banana Gelato

Picnic Party

  • Southwestern Quinoa Salad
  • E’s Crunch Salad with Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Coconut Slaw
  • Comfort Cookies

Spring Celebration

  • Steamed Artichoke
  • Coconut Lime Beurre Blanc on Wild Salmon
  • Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushroom Sauce
  • Açai Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

Italian Night

  • Watermelon Gazpacho
  • Butter Lettuce with Shaved Asparagus and Truffle Vinaigrette
  • Rustic Tomato Sauce on Quinoa Pasta
  • Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Burger Night

  • Bountiful Burgers
  • Coconut Coleslaw
  • Sweet Potato Salad

Low-Carb Night

  • Kale Caesar Salad
  • Lasagna-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
  • Frozen Fruit Platter

Deck Dining

  • Grape and Watercress Gazpacho
  • Seafood Louie with Guacamole
  • Apple and Pear Crisp

Brunch Buffet

  • Great Green Juice
  • Watercress and Blueberry Salad
  • Powerhouse Frittata
  • Hummingbird Breakfast Muffins

Big Winter Warm-Up

  • Vitamin A Soup
  • Classic Roast Chicken
  • Cauliflower Rice
  • Sauté of Super Greens
  • Holiday Pumpkin Pie

 

Health Coach Rita Thomas and Chef Erin Holm hope to inspire families, friends and communities to live happier, healthier and more delicious lives. Sign up for their weekly health and recipe blog to start your journey to good health.

Top 10 Foods to Avoid

We hoped you enjoyed last week’s 10 Basics of Healthy Eating. It was full of great tips, tricks and insights into how you can get jump-started on healthy eating right away! This week we have for you a list of the the top foods you should eliminate from your diet, or at the very least, consume in moderation!

  1. Avoid gluten and grains whenever possible. If you don’t buy into all the stories of the negative effects gluten has on the body, read Wheat Belly by cardiologist Dr. William Davis.
  2. Avoid dairy unless you can find a safe, raw, and unpasteurized source. Besides the fact that not everyone can properly digest dairy, studies have found that countries with the lowest rates of dairy (Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis. So, contrary to popular wisdom, the less dairy you eat, the better your bones will be.
  3. Avoid genetically modified foods (GMOs) at all costs. There have been copious amounts of research done on the damaging effects of GMOs, so don’t mess with this.
  4. Stay away from artificial sweeteners and eat all natural sugars in moderation, including fruit.  The less sugar or sweeteners you consume the better.
  5. Avoid processed food, junk food, and food with additives and preservatives: a lot of condiments fall into this category.
  6. Avoid soy products unless they are fermented because they can actually affect your hormone levels and not in a positive way!
  7. Eliminate foods labeled low fat, because low fat means added sugar. Don’t be afraid to eat healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocados, and healthy oils. Fat makes you feel more satiated.
  8. Avoid foods cooked at high temperatures with low-smoking-point oils.
  9. Do not eat anything grown in a factory farm. There have been plenty of in-depth investigations showing the terrible cruelty to animals practiced on factory farms. You sure don’t want all this negative energy transmitted into your body.
  10. Avoid hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils are either semi-solid or solid at room temperature and are only one molecule away from plastic; plastic does not break down, as you can imagine. This oil can create thicker blood with a gummy substance that flows through your blood and can easily lodge in your arteries and build up arterial plaque. It doesn’t take anywhere near as much time as you may think for this to occur. Some studies have shown that negative health effects of eating processed foods occurs within only minutes of consuming such foods.

So stay away if you can… and refer to the 10 basics of healthy eating for what you can be doing.

For more detailed information on Healthy Eating and Choosing the Right Foods For You, pick up your copy of the Recipes for Life Boxed Set.

Access your complementary recipe here.

Health Coach Rita Thomas and Chef Erin Holm hope to inspire families, friends and communities to live happier, healthier and more delicious lives.
Sign up for their weekly health and recipe blog to start your journey to good health.

Shopping List I

Ok, so still no recipes quite yet! That’s because you need to set up a healthy pantry first! Here is a Shopping List that will fill your fridge and your cupboards with all the ingredients and nutritious foods you will need to make our recipes.

Baked Goods: Ezekiel bread, Manna bread, Coconut meat paleo wraps

Baking Ingredients: Baking powder (aluminum-free), Baking soda (aluminum-free), Cream of tartar, Flour, Almond, Amaranth, Buckwheat, Chestnut, Coconut, Hemp, Millet, Oats, Quinoa

Beverages: Coconut water (raw, fresh), A variety of teas (Chaga Mushroom, Dandy Blend Dandelion Tea, Green tea, Horsetail, Matcha tea, Nettle, Reishi, Ron Teeguarden teas)

Boxed Goods: Vegetable broth (organic), Meat broth (organic, low sodium chicken, turkey, or beef)

Canned Goods: Unsweetened applesauce, Artichokes in water, Beans (Kidney, Garbanzo, Black), Coconut cream, Hearts of palm, Pumpkin, Wild sockeye salmon with no salt added, Sardines

Cereal and Breakfast: Sprouted buckwheat groats, Ezekiel granola with cinnamon and raisins, Holy Crap, Jules’ Fuel, Quinoa flakes, Steel-cut oats (gluten-free)

Crackers: Mary’s Gone Crackers, Vegetable crackers (raw)

Dried Fruit: Apricots, Cherries, Cranberries, Dates, Figs, Goji Berries, Incan Berries, Mulberries, Prunes, Raisins

Dry Goods: Açai powder, Bee pollen, Blue green algae, Camu camu, Cacao nibs raw, Cacao powder raw, Chlorella/spirulina powder, Coconut raw shredded unsweetened, Maca, Marine phytoplankton, Mushroom powders, Noni, Phycocyanin blue pigment from Longevity Warehouse, Physillum flakes, Protein powders, Royal jelly, SeaSnax seaweed, Seaweed (nori, dulse, wakame, kelp), Seaweed soup by Truth Calkins from Longevity Warehouse, Sundried tomatoes, Vanilla powder

Frozen Beverages: Raw coconut water

Frozen Fruits: Açai Sambazon, Berries mixed, Blueberries, Coconut meat, Cranberries, Goji berries, Mixed berries, Raspberries, Strawberries

Frozen Vegetables: Corn, Peas, Spinach

Frozen Treats: Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss ice cream – great non-dairy frozen dessert!

Grains, Beans, Noodles and Rice: Amaranth, Beans all varieties, Buckwheat groats, Noodles, Bean noodles, Quinoa noodles, Rice noodles, Soba noodles, Quinoa sprouted and non-sprouted, Mung beans sprouted, Rice (black rice, sprouted brown rice, wild rice

Jarred Goods: Aloe Vera Gel, Anchovies, Unsweetened Applesauce, Artichokes, Organic Capers, Fish Sauce, Horseradish, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Olives, Tomatoes

Nuts: Choose organic,  non-roasted,  and  non-salted (sprouted if possible): Almonds, Brazil nuts, Cashews, Hazelnuts, Macadamia nuts, Pecans, Pine nuts, Pistachios, Sacha inchi, Walnuts

Stay tuned!  The rest of  your shopping list is coming next week!

Health Coach Rita Thomas and Chef Erin Holm hope to inspire families, friends and communities to live happier, healthier and more delicious lives.

Sign up for their weekly health and recipe blog to start your journey to good health.

The 10 Basics of Healthy Eating

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!  Let’s start at the beginning and think about some everyday choices that are simple to do and can make a big difference. Incorporating the following actions into your nutritional plan will lead to some profoundly positive changes in your physical health, energy and mental well-being.

  1. Eat as close to nature as possible: This means eating whole foods, such as organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds in their most natural state. Try to avoid pre-cut and prepackaged vegetables. Every time you cut up a fruit or a veggie, nutrition escapes, so the less slicing of fruits and vegetables you do, and the sooner you eat them, the better.
  2. Opt for organic foods: It’s a known fact that organic foods have a higher content of phyto-nutrients and antioxidants. It always cracks us up when we read the odd article on the front page of the newspaper, declaring that it makes no difference if you eat organic or non-organic foods. We can tell you without a doubt that eating foods that are sprayed with chemicals does make a difference. Even though it might not show up immediately, eventually it will play havoc with your overall health. “My Potato Project; The Importance of Organic” is a great video on YouTube that will change the way you think about organic food.
  3. Eat locally and in season. The fresher the better. It’s better to buy food from your own backyard than food imported from a foreign country. This is not only for environmental and economic reasons. Eating local food puts your body in tune with your immediate environment and compensates for the nutritional demands the weather puts on your body.
  4. Reduce animal protein: There’s plenty of evidence to show that reducing meat on a daily basis is a good choice (see end of blog for list of resources). If you can’t live without meat at each meal, start with baby steps, and incorporate a few vegetarian meals a week into your diet. When you do eat meat, keep serving sizes to one third the size of your hand and make sure they are organic and from happy, well-fed animals.
  5. Eat tons of raw, colorful vegetables. Almost all diets include lots and lots of vegetables, and the rawer the better. Although there are a few vegetables that are better eaten cooked, most vegetables lose nutritional value through cooking. As well, eating a rainbow of vegetables and fruits is a simple and fun way to ensure you get the variety of nutrients you need for optimum health.
  6. Include fermented foods, sprouted foods, and fresh green juice in your diet.  All of these foods boost nutrition and are excellent for your digestive health.
  7. Supercharge your diet: Add some nutritionally packed super-foods, like aloe vera, coconut, goji berries, blue-green algae and acai into your diet. However, don’t get carried away with this.  These need to be eaten in small amounts.
  8. Keep lots of healthy snacks on hand: Vegetables that are cleaned and ready to grab are one of the best. Whenever you leave home, carry a bag of food and a glass bottle filled with healthy filtered water. If you’re going to a movie, make your own popcorn and grab an apple, or bring your own goji berry and nut mixture, complete with raw chocolates, or whatever is handy. If you don’t bring your own food, you might be tempted to make bad food choices, and that food is usually loaded with sugars, horrible fats and additives.
  9. Find the right percentages: Try the 80/20 and the 90/10 rules. The 80/20 rule is eating until you are only about 80 percent full so you don’t overtax your digestive system and allow it to work far more efficiently. The 90/10 rule is eating healthy 90 percent of the time and cutting yourself a little slack 10 percent of the time. If you have to cheat, go for it and suffer no guilt.
  10. Calm inflammation by slashing the sugar and refined carbohydrates and balancing the fats by increasing omega 3s.

The key is to just focus on adding healthy foods to your diet, rather than taking things away. Eventually, your taste buds will change, and you’ll be less inclined to eat foods that aren’t good for you.

Resources:

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell

No Happy Cows: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Food Revolution by John Robbins

Dr. John McDougall

The Amen Solution by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

Sugar Impact Diet by JJ Virgen

 Access your complementary recipe here.

Health Coach Rita Thomas and Chef Erin Holm hope to inspire families, friends and communities to live happier, healthier and more delicious lives.
Sign up for their weekly health and recipe blog to start your journey to good health and exploding taste buds.